The Mrs. William B. Astor House was a mansion on Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was located at 840 and 841 Fifth Avenue, on the northeast corner of 65th Street, completed in 1896 and demolished around 1926. History The house was originally built as a double mansion for Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the widow of real estate heir William Backhouse Astor Jr., and her son John Jacob Astor IV. Construction started in 1894, and the house would transpire to be the largest of its kind on Fifth Avenue. Caroline Astor lived in the northern half of the mansion (841 Fifth Avenue), while her son and his family lived in the southern half (840 Fifth Avenue). After Caroline Astor died in 1908, her son converted the double mansion into a single home for his family. The mansion was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, who used the early French Renaissance architecture from the period Louis XII and Francois I, in imitation of a château in the French Louis XII Style, revival of the Château de Blois. The house was the setting for many parties and was a New York City attraction. The ballroom could hold 1,200 people, compared with 400 at Mrs Astor’s previous mansion at 350 Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. The mansion was sold to real estate developer Benjamin Winter Sr. and demolished around 1926. Today, the temple of the Congregation Emanu-El of New York is located on the site. Architecture Ground floor The principal entrance to the house was through a domed vestibule, from which led a hall lined with busts of Mrs Astor’s ancestors. This room, in turn, gave access to the marble great hall, from where rose a large cantilevered staircase. From the great hall, guests could enter the Adam style reception room, where they were received, on formal occasions, by their hostess standing beneath her own portrait by Carolus-Duran. At the end of the great hall was the entrance, flanked by two large vases and gold satin curtains, to the ballroom. From the Great Hall, also led the Drawing Room, the walls of which were adorned with gilt-framed mirrors. The Drawing Room floor was laid with oriental carpets, large game rugs, and several others woven from feathers. Also, off the Great Hall was the dining room, the black marble walls of which were hung with tapestries depicting hunting